The Tension with the Screen Cloths

With any piece of heavy equipment that features wear parts, the goal is to keep those parts in a great working condition for as long as possible. One wear part that seems to be neglected the most is the screen cloth. With constant impacts from crushed aggregate, concrete, rebar, asphalt, and other abrasive materials, as well as the constant vibration generated by the screen itself, it important to keep an eye on screen cloth so it can continue to perform as intended.

What is the importance of preventative maintenance?

The importance of preventative maintenance cannot be stressed enough. Keeping up on preventative maintenance has several benefits such as increasing employee safety and keeping equipment running efficiently. One of the biggest benefits is the prevention of breakdowns that cost you both time and money. When it comes to screens, if they are not tightened properly, they cannot vibrate as they were designed. This thereby decreases the efficiency of the screen.

From the beginning

The best time to start your preventative maintenance is at the beginning. When you get a new screening plant or even just a new screen cloth, your preventive maintenance starts there. New screens should have their screen cloth re-torqued after 4 hours of run time due to the new screens stretching and becoming loose. This causes excess wear on the screens and its matching hardware. A recommendation for tightening is that two people be used to tighten the screen cloth, standing one on each side. This way the two people can tighten bolts at the same time.

What should you torque the screen cloth to?

Generally, screen cloth with wire size of 3/8” or smaller should be torqued to 150-160 lb-ft.  Screen cloth with wire size of 1/2” or greater should be torqued to 180 lb-ft. However, it should be noted that different torque settings may need to be applied, depending on specific screen cloth being used, material being screened, the recommendations of the screen manufacturer, as well as which deck the cloth is being used on (top/protector, middle, bottom, etc.)

Do you have more questions?

No matter the circumstances, Eagle Crusher has the equipment and the support you need to make sure you are able to screen what needs to be screened as efficiently as possible. If you have more questions or would like information on our products, contact us to speak with a Team Eagle representative.